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October 7th, 2005

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June 21st, 2005

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May 10th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Former Cedar Keyan Holds Book Signing
March 7th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Friends of the Refuges Annual Meeting Draws Huge Crowd
March 7th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Second Annual National Juried Art Exhibit Opens to Rave Reviews
March 6th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: New Exhibit by Local Artists Opens at Island Hotel
February 16th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Local Artist Wins Best in Show
February 13th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center News
January 29th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Local Photographer Wins Honorable Mention in Photo Contest
January 10th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: "Voices of the Virginia Eight" Opens at Arts Center Gallery
January 9th, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Arts Center Happenings
January 1st, 2005

Arts and Entertainment: Stunning Exhibit Opens at Arts Center
December 5th, 2004

Arts and Entertainment: Juried Exhibit Opens at Arts Center to Rave Reviews
November 11th, 2004

Arts and Entertainment: Seeing Through the Eyes of Photographer Rose Valle
August 27th, 2004

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Satire or Documentary?

Satire or Documentary?

Susan Seyfarth

In "Fahrenheit 9/11," director Michael Moore`s purpose is similar to that in most of his work: to create an awareness of the "little people" who are exploited by the privileged class, be it corporate America or political Washington, D.C. Here, Moore traces events leading to and continuing through the U.S.`s presence in Iraq. But this is not a documentary because the facts are not presented objectively. They are interpreted by Moore, and there is never doubt about what he wants us to feel--rage, indignity, sadness, and naiveté over what he sees as the Bush administration`s lying about the war--why it started(oil), who fights it (young unemployed minorities), who profits from it (the Bushes, their buddies). This is precisely what the creator of effective satire does; point out human vice and folly in order to change society for the better. The satirist`s tools include sarcasm, ridicule, and irony, applied gently or harshly, whichever it takes to wake up an audience.

In Moore`s hands, these tools craft a tough, funny movie in the tradition of TV`s "Saturday Night Live." We see the gruesome shots of limbless victims of explosions, harsh indeed. Ridicule and irony appear in the superimposing of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld on the bodies of the TV Western "Bonanza`s" cast. Accompanied by the show`s theme song, they appear to be having a swell time rounding up the bad guys and roping in the money resulting from their ties to the Bin Laden family. Then, Moore gently but sarcastically asks U.S. Senators to sign up their kids for active duty in Iraq. They don`t get the point but we do: they will not consider his request. From their perspective, it simply is not a sensible one.

Is "Fahrenheit 9/11" effective satire? Most likely, yes. Whether you love it or hate it, Moore causes you to react, to respond. Whether for the good of society or not is up to the judgment of each respondent, each moviegoer.


Caution: graphic violence, language.

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